If my memory serves me correctly, 2003 was the last time the Los Angeles Fetish Ball came out to play. I remember one or two of the events from the late '90s-huge, well-attended, multi-floor events that really pushed the envelope and were quite the spectacle-every room having something that could keep the attendee enraptured for hours.

Perhaps that wonderment came from the fetish scene being fresh and new to my impressionable mind back then-could your narrator be jaded now? I don't think so - but to put it bluntly, the Key Club is the absolute worst venue the LA Fetish Ball has ever been hosted in. It makes me sad to see the days of the opulent Park Plaza Hotel and the Variety Arts Center become a thing of the past, where attendance reached into the thousands. The LA Fetish Ball once rivaled some of Europe's biggest bashes. What's happening? Are large-scale fetish events in the US a thing of the past? Has America lost its fascination with fetish even though public interest in it seems to be at its peak? Have we all become blasé and I didn't get the memo? Say it ain't so!!!


Rumors lead me to believe that this year's low attendance had a lot to do with lack of advertising (when I would mention the event to die-hard fetishistas in passing, many had no idea what I was talking about), and I'm sure the two-day nature of this year's event did its part in breaking up the crowd. Why the two day event? I'm really not sure-could it have been to follow the trend of the multi-day European events? Was it because of the low capacity and bad layout of the Key Club? With only a handful of shows and performances on each night it certainly couldn't have been held over two days to simply accommodate the entertainment.

Perhaps I'm making the mistake of comparing this year's offering to those in the past. This year's ball actually had quite a bit to offer if you paid attention and didn't blink and miss it.

Most of my time Friday night was spent in the downstairs lounge where the gallery was showing the work of some of LA's finest photographers: Christine Kessler, Steve Diet Goedde, Perry Gallagher, Dave Naz and Liezel Rubin. All had some of their latest work hanging high in the lounge, and the lowered volume of the music made it easy to catch up with old friends and carry on decent conversations throughout the evening. Occasionally some dancing and play would break out on the teeny dance floor.


Unfortunately, if you were downstairs for any period of time, it was easy to miss the action that was going on upstairs on the main floor. Key Club is really only meant for live music shows and doesn't really lend itself to a dance or club event-the dance floor is too small and the layout just gets annoying after a while, making it impossible to stay upstairs for a long period of time.

Usually most bands that play at fetish events make me cringe in embarrassment, and the band Spanking Machine on Saturday night was no exception. I'm tired of the S&M themed band adage of cheesy lyrics about the finer aspects of lifestyle fetish with an equally trite stage show to match. Are we as fetishists doomed to take ourselves too seriously? I don't really find this kind of entertainment amusing -- rather just tiring and I think the audience agreed as the downstairs got even more crowded during their show. Friday night's band Powder was a refreshing breath of fresh air-not a typical "fetish" band, they played a fun, lighthearted set that didn't cater to BDSM stereotypes and simply focused on playing some tight, loud rock and roll music. After all, the whips don't always need to be a'crackin'!

Friday night performances included fellow New Yorkers and LaChapelle muse Amanda Lepore and Cazwell. Here's where the Fetish Ball had their ace in the hole, so to speak. I've always been a fan of mixing the scenes to keep things more interesting-and in NYC's club heyday of the early 90's-mixing the BDSM and the gay drag scene always proved to be a hit-both groups intermixing and feeding off of one another's creativity so as not to become stagnant, and if memory serves me correctly, LA's scene of the past was not much different. Amanda did a short set from her new album of the typical fabulous party girl drag songs and kept everyone from taking themselves too seriously-we're all here to party, right? Somewhere along the way, these two scenes diverged and I hope this is a sign that they're getting closer again!


On Friday night Kumimonster did a suspension/bondage performance and on Saturday Courtney Cruz wowed the audience with her adorable marionette performance. Sexy go-go dancers pranced about on stage in between performers. Saturday played host to the one fashion show of the weekend, Tressa's new line for Fierce Couture. Featuring makeup design by one of LA's most talented makeup artists Alex La Marsh and hair by Tony Cupstid, it was an elaborate high-fashion affair featuring many local models and a few from all over the USA. The collection featured gorgeous latex evening wear, mostly in black and white with a few splashes of red colour-classic lines but far from boring, with more than a bit of old Hollywood glamour. It was one of the best-received shows I've ever witnessed.

All in all, the ball was a bit of a disappointment, but I did have fun catching up with old friends and making the best of it, despite some small gripes. And after all, isn't that what going out and partying should be all about? Though one day I'd like to see the West rise again!!!